No Deal
I should be in bed now. The wind chimes ding lightly to the rhythmic sound of the clock. The washed out sound of crickets ring loudly in my ears.
The house is dark and my eyes sting from the brightness of this computer screen. Yet, here I am wondering why I am writing instead of sleeping.
MB & I have been talking about trading in his truck for a car. Gas prices are high here...like everywhere. I'd like to get a hybrid, but they just don't make financial sense. You'd never make up the additional cost over the life of the vehicle. If our future is to become less dependent of fossil fuels...prices will have to come way down on those cars!
Anyway- we went to the Roseville automall looking for the Haundi dealer. Couldn't find it and stopped at Mitsubishi instead. We test drove 2 of their Lancers. Nice, but not sold. Upon returning from the first test drive, I glanced over and noticed my trooper was covered with water. They just washed my car! I had parked next to a row of cars for sale...and I parked just the same way they did...with the back to the fence. I thought...You'll never get it open, I have the key.
Three salesmen tried very hard to make a deal. It wasn't a sweet offer. I was firm. I played them like a deck of cards...and they knew it.
I said we would keep them in mind and come back next week.
As we walked off the lot, MB said "We just wasted their time, didn't we?"
I answered..."maybe, but I did get a free car wash", smiling as I held his hand.
posted by Kathy at 10:18 PM
6 Comments:
kathy,I just answered something you posted on Michael's site, and I salute you for being a protective parent-without email posted-which I totally understand I have no private way of mentioning this, but you can delete this comment quickly.
The other day when you posted a picture of your daughter here, I felt a little uneasy,thinking that with all of the sickos online, I wouldn't have posted the picture. But that was just my opinion, and you know what you're doing. Your mention today "my over active imagination knows what horrible adults lurk in the shadows." at Michael's prompted me to write this.
Let your imagination be overactive, kathy-you are doing right by being protective.
10:38 AM
Kathy - when buying a hybrid car, should factors besides price factor into the decision? For example, hybrids are a bit spendy, compared to some other cars, but compared to trucks and SUV's they are significantly cheaper (especially if operational costs are factored in). As well, if you were on the line between two cars, and one was more fuel efficient and had fewer harmful emissions, why would one ever buy the alternative (I say this as a driver of an all-wheel drive Subaru that is not nearly as fuel efficient as the Honda Accord I used to have).
Also, for what it's worth, I kinda sorta maybe agree with Doug. I make the comment with concern that you will start to censor yourself and that some of what makes your site so compelling will go away. But, I think you should consider: not using your real name (and maybe you DON'T use your real name), not posting pictures of your children, maybe not posting pictures of yourself too often, limiting reference to the city where you live, etc. It makes me sad that the world we live in requires us to be weird, but...such is the world we live in.
11:51 AM
Duf- on the subject of the hybrid...the difference for us is this...a car payment or not. Yes, I would love to cut my emissions, but I'm NOT willing to take on another car payment to do it. Sorry. Also you would never make back a 10 grand savings in gas. Not to meantion the interest from the loan. I think trading in a 13 mpg truck for a 33 mpg car is still a good move for the environment.
On the subject of censoring my blog...I can't do it. I would never make a good actor. I am just me- I know that puts me at risk for weirdos and I am touched by yours and doug's concern.
I just doesn't scare me that much. I won't put on the mask. Hey- that reminds me...I have a great new picture of myself I can post.
:-)
I will still go on being a daily protective parent- really what can a sicko do with my blog on the internet? Maybe I shouldn't ask that!
12:09 PM
Okay, so I'm not a sicko, but I'll answer your question.
I'm a faithful reader of your blog, here's what I know -
Your first name
Your husband's first and last name
Your children's names
Your children's ages
The city you live in.
When you are on vacation
What kind of car you drive
What color it is
Etc.
From there, how hard would it be for me to get your address? I would think it would be pretty easy.
I would never harm anyone (least of all someone I respect/admire), but what if someone reading your blog who was unwell acted on poor intentions?
On my blog, I do all the made up stuff because I have all these view about politics, etc. I don't want some sicko coming after me angry that I'm pro-choice. I know that anyone who really wants to find me probably can, but I don't want to make it easy.
Just food for thought. BTW, there is a huge part of me that actually hopes you will just continue to be you and not change at all.
12:20 PM
Now for the Hybrid part.
Fair enough, an improvement need not be the maximum improvement in order to be worth doing, and it is great if you go from a 13 MPG vehicle to on that gets 33.
But our American tendency to only think about money unnerves me. Someday, we will not have a choice but to consider environmental impact, but until that day, I wish would we even add it to the list of things we are thinking about when we make purchases.
Why would anyone buy an aerosol can if they could buy a non-aerosol? Why would anyone by an inefficient refrigerator if they could buy one for the same price that WAS efficient? What gets my goat, is not that people think about it and make a different decision, it's that all to often, they don't think about it at all.
12:23 PM
I agree, Duf. However one must survive...and a person's budget will always be the most important factor. My first hope was to get something environmentally friendly, then it was the color ;-)
And for the record... I live in a gated community- which is a false sense of security- but security non the less.
Happy Day Friends!
12:34 PM
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